GET REEL: Heist films look like a steal

Sunday

Jun 11, 2017 at 12:01 AMJun 11, 2017 at 2:04 PM

Bob Tremblay @BobTremblay_MW

Fans of heist movies might want to check out the latest analysis from Gocompare.com Van Insurance.

Care to guess which film features the largest dollar amount in a heist attempt? Answer: “Die Hard with a Vengeance," aka, “Die Hard 3.” In this 1995 film, the bad guys, led by Jeremy Irons’ Simon Peter Gruber, have their greedy eyes set on absconding with $140 billion worth of gold bullion. Of course, the good guys, led by Bruce Willis’ John McClane, prevent this heist from happening. Only 41 percent of film heists actually succeed, according to the analysis, with just 27 percent of the pilferers avoiding capture.

In case you’re wondering, the first “Die Hard” film, dating from 1988, rates number 3 on the list with the attempted take valued at $640 million. “”Entrapment,” the 1999 film starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, comes in at number 2 with a cool $8 billion on the line. In case you’re wondering some more, the second “Die Hard” film didn’t involve a heist.

Rounding out the top 10, we have “Ocean’s Thirteen” ($500 million), “The First Great Train Robbery” ($304 million), “Goldfinger” ($262 million), “Ocean’s Eleven” ($160 million), “Now You See Me” ($140 million), “Lupin III” ($100 million) and “Fast Five” ($100 million). One of the smallest amounts was a paltry $500 at stake in “Home Alone.” Not worth the pain, guys.

To arrive at these rankings, gocompare.com analyzed 56 heist films released since 1956 with the average estimated value of goods stolen exceeding $2 billion and the total amounting to a whopping $151 billion. Among the items thieves targeted include diamonds, Faberge eggs, daggers, paintings, the aforementioned gold bullion and a stray dollar or two million.

Gocompare.com notes that the only film on the list that has reality roots is “The First Great Train Robbery.” The 1979 film, starring Connery once again playing a thief, is loosely based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855.

Of the 56 films on the list, movies to make time for include the aforementioned “Goldfinger,” “The Italian Job” (take your pick of the 1969 original or the 2003 remake), “Three Kings,” “The Pink Panther” (1963), “Inside Man,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “Topkapi,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “The Killing,” “The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 (1974), “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Inception.” As for the latter film, what’s being “stolen” includes information from dreams. Try doing that, Bonnie and Clyde.

A few of these movies have purloined acting and screenplay Oscars, including "A Fish Called Wanda" (best supporting actor for Kevin Kline), "Topkapi, " (best supporting actor for Peter Ustinov) and "Dog Day Afternoon" (best original screenplay for Frank Pierson). "Inception," meanwhile, received eight Oscar nominations and bagged four statuettes. Foreign films on the list include "Lupin III" (Japanese) and "Rififi" (French).

Quality heist films not on the list, for reasons big, small and bizarre, include, well, "Bonnie and Clyde," "Point Break," "Sexy Beast," "Bad Santa," "Ronin," "Out of Sight," "The Town," "Heat," "Jackie Brown," "The Sting," "The Usual Suspects" and "Hell or High Water."

What makes the heist genre pleasurable is that it can take many forms: serious, comic, comic-serious, with opportunities for thrills, chills and spills along the way. The best ones keep you guessing as to whether the thief or thieves will get away with the goods, tossing in a few plot twists to throw you off balance. The best ones also feature characters you care about, whether they're the good guys or the bad guys. Sometimes you care about both, as in the case of "Hell or High Water," one of the best films from last year. Here's a heist film that just might... wait for it... steal your heart away.

To see the analysis, go to www.gocompare.com/van-insurance/film-heists/#BOvLM8qphosOakqo.97.

Last month’s tester: This New York-born actress received only one Oscar nomination during her career. Interestingly, her co-star also received only one Oscar nomination during his career and it was in the same year as this actress' nomination but for a different film. Clue: The actor's other film was a biopic. The decade was the 1940s.

Answer: Gene Tierney. She was nominated for her 1945 movie "Leave Her To Heaven" which co-starred Cornel Wilde who received a nomination that same year for his role in the biopic "A Song To Remember."

Norma Shulman of Framingham was the first reader to answer the question correctly. Ken Butler of Franklin also answered the question correctly. Congratulations!

This month’s tester: This actor appeared in 13 films during the 1950s. His co-stars included four Oscar-winning actresses and five Oscar-winning actors. Clue: He appeared in two films with one of these actresses.

The first reader to answer the question correctly will receive a prize.

Trivia enthusiasts can call me at 508-626-4409 or email me at rtremblay@wickedlocal.com. Make sure you leave your name, address and phone number on my message machine or email so I can contact you if you answered the question correctly. The address is needed so winners can be mailed their prize. Callers should spell out their names slowly and clearly so their names will be spelled correctly in the column.